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2 Sheet-Sheet 1. J. J. JORDAN.

(No Model.)

SHOE.

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SHOE.

No. 881,930. Patented May 1, 1888.

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v ;#f WITNESSES I I INVENTOR.

ATTORNBYS.

dUNITED4 STATES PATENT OFFICE..

JAMEs J. JORDAN, oF sYRAcUsE, Nnw YORK.

SHOE.

PECFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 381,930, dated May 1, 188.

Application filed May 13. 1887. Serial No. 238.030. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs J. JoRDAN, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stays for Shoes, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to that class of shoes which open in the back; and it consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of'metallic sta-ys for the meeting edges of such shoes, substantially as'will be hcreinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In order to enable others skilledin the art to which myinvention pertains to make and use the same, Iwill now proceed to describe its construction and use.

In specifying' my invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Figure l is an isometric view of a shoe containing my invention, illustrating the shape substantially of the vamp and the arrangement of the opening in the rear of the top or upper. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detached view of the stud which holds the fastening means. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of a shoe constructed according'to my invention. Fig. 4 shows a like view, With a modification in the fastening means. Fig. 5sh0ws arear elevation of a shoe constructed according to my invention with the rear opening spread apart. Fig. 6 is an enlargcd detached view of the Sheet-metal blank from which thefastening-clasp is formed. Ffg. 7 is an enlarged detached viewpof the adjustable metallic stays for supportingrthe fastening means. Fig. 8 is an enlarged isometric view of the securing-clasp for fastening the meeting edges of the opening in the top together. Fig. 9 shows an enlarged isometric view, partly in section, taken on line a; w, Fig. 8, to illustrate the manner of folding the blank shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 10 shows enlarged detached views of the metallic stays, illustrating more particularly the construction thereof.

The letter A represents a shoe made according to my invention, in which a is the vamp formed with its upper edge or extremity deflected slightly toward its extreme rear at the point where the vamp joins the counter, as indicated by the dotted lines a' in Fig. 1.

b is the top or upper, and is provided with an opening in the rear thereof, with straight meeting edges extending from the top of the vamp to the top of the upper, as best shown in Fig. 5.

The object of forming the vamp in the manner described and shown is for the purpose of allowing free entrance of the foot into the shoe, and affording a neat and close fit to the foot of the wearer when the shoe is secured by the fastening means. Heretofore in constructing shoes with openings in the rear it has been impossible to make a successful shoe with a Vertical opening and straight meeting edges, for the reason of the great difficulty of getting the foot into the shoe constructd `in this way; hence shoes' With other thanV the elongated opening either in front or on the side have not been popu-l lar nor practical for this reason, and for the further reason that the curved or elongated opening necessarily caused a strain on the instep and ankle and hurt the foot of the Wearer.

By forming the vamp in the manner described-that is, having its upper edge or extremity deflected at its extreme rear, where it joins the counter, as best shown in Fig. l-it will be observed that the Vertical opening is brought below the point where the curve in the counter deflects, and that consequently the foot of the wearer can be easily inserted in the shoe and the straight meeting edges utilized, where in the old method it was necessary to make the opening elongated or cnrved.

Thus by myinvention I overcome the defects i in construction and provide a shoe which may be readily adj usted to the ankle of the wearer, and a neater'fitting shoe is thereby produced.

c is a tongue secured to the counter of the shoe firmly, so as to serve the twofold office of closing the opening and affording assistance in pulling on the shoe, substantially in the same manner as the tongue described in my application of December 4, 1886.

The fastening means for'.securing the meet;-

ing edges of the shoe together 'may consist of any of the well-known appliances nowin use, as the lacing studs or hooks illustrated in Fig'.

4;; but I preferably employ metallic stays se" cured in the meeting` edges of the tops of the shoes, as presently explained.

The metallic stays are similar to the like devices illustrated in my previous application, with the exception that I-provide the lower portion of the stay, g,with the integral extensions lt h, Fig. 10, extending from the sides thereof at the top of the stay-piece, and the upper portion, g',with likeprojecting extensions from the lower edge thereof, and then unite the two portions g g' in the manner illustrated in Fig. 10, which consists in laying the two pieces upon each other and bending the proj ecting extensions h h in opposite directions, so as to embrace, respectively, the two parts of the stay, whereby the adjustment vertically is limited as the contact of the extensions when the extreme point is reached. By extending the upper piece, g, it will be observed that the stay-pieces g g', united in this manner, are guided rectilineally in their movement by the slides formed by bending the projecting extensions h h, as described, and that the two parts cannot be separated from each other, for the reason that when the loops formed by the projections come together they form positive stops. These adjustable stay-pieces are pivoted to the erosswise connection N, Fig. 7, and the connection N is secured to the counter or top of the vamp of the shoe, as best shown in the dotted lines, Fig. 3, while the adjustable stay-pieces are secured in the meeting edges of the top or upper by simply lapping the material of the top around the stay-pieces, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the edgesZZ lapping around and being secured either by stitching or in any other suitable manner. The edges Z Z, it will be understood, are lapped over the stay-picces to adjust the shoe to the foot of the wearer, and may be let out or taken up, as desired, to adjust the meeting edges to the proper position7 and thereby a more perfect fit of the shoe to the foot is secured, and the change can be readily made without defacing the top of the shoe, for the reason that the change consists in merely letting out or taking in the material of the top without interfering with any other portion thereof.

I ntilize the adjustable stay-pieces also to attach the clasp d and stud e to the shoe.

It will be observed that the clasp d is secured to one of the stays g by means of the projecting clinch i, Fig. 10, which passes through the slot d' in the clasp, Fig. 8, and is folded back and riveted to the stay-piece, and upon the opposite stay-piece I secure the stud c,which is applied to are-enforced piece, e', as best shown in Fig. 2, and headed down at 82, Fig. 2. By thus securing the clasp and Stud to the adj ustable stay pieces the material of the meeting edges is relieved from the strain incident to the fastening and unfa'stening of the shoe.

' The fastening-clas'p (Z is made froma blank, (shown at D, Fig. 6,) the said blank being stamped out of thin sheet metal and provided with the take-up holes punched therein, so that when folded, as best shown in Figs. 8 and 9, an adjustable take-up clasp is provided, which permits the meeting edges of the shoe to be adj usted to the foot of the wearer as the material stretches. The clasp d is provided with one or more holes, dz, for this purpose, and also with a slot or opening, d' through which passes the strap or clinch i, which serves to secure the clasp to the shoe or other article.

It will be observed that I preferably connect the clasp to the metallic stay-piece g, secured in the fold of the edge Z, as best shown in Fig. 1, for the reason that the clasp has a free movement on the clinch i, as a hinge, making it very easy to operate the clasp in opening or fastening the shoe.

The operation of my invention will be readily nnderstood from the foregoing and upon reference to the drawings.

It will be seen that the shoe opens from the rear to a sufficient extent to allow the foot of the wearer to be inserted with great ease,ow- 9a ing to the conformation of the vamp on its upper edge and the dellection thereof below the point where the counter curves inward above the vamp, as in the ordinary construction, and that the straight meeting edges allow the shoe to be seenred to the foot of the wearer without the formation of folds or creases about the instep or ankle, thus securing a very neat-setting shoe, and overcoming the difliculties heretofore existing in producing a shoe of this kind.

It is to be observed that by my invention a shoe described and illustrated heren can be produced with great economy, both in material and manufacture, and since the top or upper is closed in the front and sides, where the shoe shows the most in use, it will be readily apparent that my invention provides a very neat and Superior article over theshoes which have the opening in front orat the side thereof. Furthermore, that by having the opening in the rear with straight meeting edges the shoe is drawn to the shape of the ankle or instep of the wearer; hence is very easy upon the foot in walking, besides being much neater in appearance than the shoes of the class previously described.

The fastening means, when consisting of the clasp and stud, according to my preferred plan,are extremely simple, efficient, and quick V in operation, and serve to effectually adjust the shoe to the foot of the wearer.

Haviug thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The adjustable metallic stay composed of the parts g g', provided with integral extensions h h, projecting from the lower and upper edges, respectively, of the two parts, and lapped around each other to slide Vertically one on the other, whereby the Vertical movement of the stay-pieces is determined by lOO IIO

the overlapping cdges colliding when the stay- In testimony whereof have herennto signed' Io' pieces are extended to the extreme limit of my name, in the presence of two attesting witmovement, substantially as and for the purnesses, at Syx'acuse, in the county of Ononpose set forth. daga, in the State of New York, this 10th day 5 2. The combination of the two Stays of adof May, 1887.

jnstable metallic stay-pieces pivoted to the J AMES J. J ORDAN. connection N and provided, respeotve1y,with Witnesses:

the hnged clasp d and Stud e, substantially as FREDERIOK H. GIBBs,

and for the purpose set forth. E. O. OANNON. 

